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Alfred v Richardson, Tebogo and Duplantis: Zurich Diamond League stand-outs / Photo: © AFP/File
Alfred v Richardson, Tebogo and Duplantis: Zurich Diamond League stand-outs
Saint Lucia's sprint queen Julien Alfred, her American rival Sha'Carri Richardson and Olympic men's 200m champion Letsile Tebogo headline a panoply of stars from the Paris Games at Thursday's Diamond League meet in Zurich.
The meet is the last before the September 13-14 finals in Brussels.
AFP Sport looks at five stand-out events as athletes look to book their place in those finals.
Women's 100m
Julien Alfred won a first-ever Olympic medal for her tiny Caribbean island homeland when she stormed to victory in the blue riband event in Paris, beating world champion Sha'Carri Richardson into silver.
Alfred, who had won the world indoor 60m title in Glasgow in March, then claimed silver in the 200m to cement her place in sprinting lore.
Also in the field are home favourite Mujinga Kambundji, sixth in the Olympic final, and Britain's Dina Asher-Smith, who failed to make the last eight in the French capital.
Men's 200m
Letsile Tebogo, 21, mirrored Alfred's 100m feat by taking Olympic gold in the men's 200m.
It was a first-ever victory for an African in the event and Botswana's debut Olympic gold medal, Tebogo returning home to a rapturous welcome that also saw him gifted two houses.
Tebogo, already at number five in the 200m all time top list, will face the American pair of Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley in Zurich, each seeking to add a Weltklasse win to their Olympic silver and bronze medals.
Women's 5,000m
Beatrice Chebet wrote athletics history in Paris. On her Olympic debut, she became the only athlete to take gold in two individual events (5,000m and 10,000m) and the first Kenyan to win the longest track race.
A double Olympic, cross country and 5km road-running world champion, Chebet also holds the world records in the 10,000m and the road 5km.
In Zurich, Chebet can count on pacemakers, wavelight technology and a 30,000 sell-out at the Letzigrund Stadium, guaranteeing what should be a very rapid race.
Men's 1500m
There is a breathtaking line-up in the men's 1500m, with the fastest and most successful runners of the season all competing.
American Cole Hocker surprised the field by taking gold in Paris, much-feted Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen paying the price for his suicidal opening pace.
Ingebrigtsen eventually came in fourth, world champion Josh Kerr claiming silver and American Yared Nuguse bronze in a titanic race.
All four will be on show in Zurich, Ingebrigtsen keen to build on his form in Lausanne, where he won ahead of Hocker.
Men's pole vault
Never say never with Armand Duplantis. The US-born Swede better known by his nickname 'Mondo' is a totally dominant figure in the world of men's pole vault.
After retaining his Olympic title in Paris with a world record, Duplantis improved that mark, for a stunning 10th time, to 6.26 metres at the Silesia Diamond League meet last month.
The Swede will be up against the next four best vaulters of the season: Olympic silver medallists Christopher Nilsen (USA, 2021) and Sam Kendricks (USA, 2024), Asian champion Ernest John Obiena of the Philippines and France's Thibaut Collet.
It is fair to say, however, that talk will not be of Duplantis' challengers, but more of how much higher can the Swede go.
S. Sokolow--BTZ
